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| How al-Qaeda and the FBI viewed the lead-up to 9/11 |
| 2006-04-01 |
| Three weeks of testimony and dozens of documents released in the sentencing of Zacarias Moussaoui have offered an eerie parallel view of two organizations, al-Qaida and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and how they pursued their missions before the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Al-Qaida, according to the newly revealed account from the chief plotter, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, took its time in choosing targets - attack the White House or perhaps a nuclear plant in Pennsylvania? Organizers sized up and selected operatives, teaching them how to apply for a visa and how to cut a throat, a skill they practiced on sheep and camels. Despite the mistakes of careless subordinates and an erratic boss, Osama bin Laden, Mohammed tried to keep the plot on course. Mohammed, a Pakistani-born, American-trained engineer, "thought simplicity was the key to success," says the summary of his interrogation by the Central Intelligence Agency. It is all the more chilling for the banal managerial skills it ascribes to the man who devised the simultaneous air attacks. If Mohammed's guiding principle was simplicity, the U.S. government relied on sprawling bureaucracies at feuding agencies to look for myriad potential threats. The CIA had lots of information on two of the hijackers, Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar, but the FBI did not know the men had settled in San Diego, where Mohammed had instructed them to "spend time visiting museums and amusement parks" so they could masquerade as tourists. At the FBI, a few agents pursued clues that would later prove tantalizingly close to the mark, but they could not draw attention from top counterterrorism officials. A Minnesota FBI agent, Harry M. Samit, warned in a memo that Moussaoui was a dangerous Islamic extremist whose study of how to fly a Boeing 747-400 seemed to be part of a sinister plot. "As the details of this plan are not yet fully known, it cannot be determined if Moussaoui has sufficient knowledge of the 747-400 to attempt to execute the seizure of such an aircraft," Samit wrote on Aug. 31, 2001. He had already urged Washington to act quickly, because it was not clear "how far advanced Moussaoui's plan is or how many unidentified co-conspirators exist." But to high-level officials, the oddball Moroccan-born Frenchman in Minneapolis was only one of scores of possible terrorists who might be worth checking out. An FBI official in Washington edited crucial details out of Samit's memos seeking a search warrant for Moussaoui's possessions and said that pressing for it could hurt an agent's career, Samit testified. The picture of a large and lumbering bureaucracy trying to defend against a small and flexible enemy is striking, said Timothy J. Roemer, a member of the national Sept. 11 commission. "It's like the elephant fighting the snake," said Roemer, a former Democratic congressman from Indiana. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #39 :-)~ Ok - you actually almost got me to spray the monitor, dammit |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-04-01 22:12 |
| #38 He can't, Frank -- OCD type. Bwahahahahahahahahaha!!! Who says that the "heavenly snarking" is all gone? |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-04-01 21:45 |
| #37 He can't, Frank -- OCD type. |
| Posted by: Darrell 2006-04-01 21:41 |
| #36 give it a rest |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-04-01 21:31 |
| #35 Seafarious: Respectfully, as I said, I am tactfully ignoring you know who no matter what name he goes under. OCD is a problem. Howie Mandel gets an anxiety attack when someone asks to shake his hand. I was stating a fact when I said that OCD types - at least 3 - are here. Lotp and yourself will probably have cause to agree with me at some time, if you don't already. I have apologized for breaking the rules. OCD control types could not. |
| Posted by: Listen to Dogs 2006-04-01 21:30 |
| #34 Seafarious gave notice that desperate ad hominem attacks are not welcome here, presumedly because said attacks are all noise and no substance. Pot -> Kettle -> Black I have a good rapport with those who come here only for info, and I will treat subjective posts like wallpaper. Riiiiiiight. Here's a hint kiddo. .com outclasses you before the devil can get his shoes on. If you're wondering why he's not here, I'd wager it's because he probably refuses to get into a battle of wits with an unarmed person. PS: Ditto what RD said. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-04-01 21:23 |
| #33 #31 Thravins Snaving9886 that was class..pure, thx! |
| Posted by: RD 2006-04-01 20:27 |
| #32 The List! |
| Posted by: 6 2006-04-01 19:52 |
| #31 Guess you'd better whack me, then, Seafarious. I object to this sick fuck's posts going unchallenged. Ah, well, it doesn't matter. The moderators redact clearly innocent comments on lame grounds and skip right over insane bombs. It used to be exciting, wild, fun, interesting; you could just lurk and enjoy the hard edged banter and the heavenly snarking. Lucky, TGA, AC, and others would leaven the mix with laughter, facts, and insight. Terribly missed, those are gone, now. I'd guess it's lonely on the ramparts for the stalwarts remaining, stalked by the sinktrap. Pass the cucumber sandwiches, please. Mon Dieu! Sans croûtes, naturellement! Barbares! Ah, et passent les nukes, svp. |
| Posted by: Thravins Snaving9886 2006-04-01 19:51 |
| #30 For the record...yesterday I sinktrapped LtD's off-topic, personally insulting sneak attack on another poster. I sinktrapped the reply to LtD's comment to prevent the thread from devolving into a food fight. I then poop-listed whichever smartypants changed its name and posted to stir the pot. I don't like calling out individual posters, but LtD, you're on the list. Keep your commenting focused on the War on Terror, and not on the other RB participants. Thank you. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2006-04-01 19:43 |
| #29 Just 2 days ago (comment #20) MBD reached its pathological equilibrium. Every US President has forsworn the first-strike use of nuclear weapons - for 60 years. Painting this as another of Carter's legacies, which are already numerous and odious, is prejudicial logical fallacy, such fallacies are something at which MBD excels. Much of it is cut and pasted from other sources, I'm sure. You can tell when it decides to add original thoughts... I've noticed the oddness in some of your constructs - and you've obliged with another: "Rantburgers should be better able to adapt." Perhaps what's said in BC should stay in BC. Don't need you here, that's a certainty. Once upon a time, as the links I gave above indicate rather clearly, Fred knew what to do with MBD - and did it repeatedly - that was only about a month's timespan. That a real nuke 'em first post didn't raise but one eyebrow must (please) be because it came late... I hope. |
| Posted by: Thravins Snaving9886 2006-04-01 19:39 |
| #28 :> Q. |
| Posted by: 6 2006-04-01 19:37 |
| #27 Ima lerned to love the weather ballons. |
| Posted by: 6 2006-04-01 19:35 |
| #26 Wait...Mr. Shipman is speaking with the MUFFLER men? Uh...I thought that was MUFFIN Man...(sadly trudges off to kitchen) |
| Posted by: Quana 2006-04-01 19:33 |
| #25 LtD, I've been around the Internet since before it WAS the internet, ie since the ARPANET days when people in British Columbia, like you, were not online. Don't presume to teach your elders about online culture. ;-) |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-04-01 19:26 |
| #24 ironic, huh, N Spemble? But I repeat myself :-) |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-04-01 18:45 |
| #23 I coulda skipped seventh grade if I'd known I'd have to read this kind of thing when I grew up. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-04-01 18:39 |
| #22 Son of Sam listened to dogs, and look at where that got him! |
| Posted by: 11A5S 2006-04-01 18:32 |
| #21 I am Number 2. Who is Number 1? You are Number 6? I'm a man, not a number!!! Arrgh!!! I always liked it when a new Number 2 would come on board because the old one screwed up! |
| Posted by: 11A5S 2006-04-01 18:31 |
| #20 lotp: Forums tend to attract obsessive-compulsives. Trust me: they are always in attack mode and if Moderators muss their sandboxes, you become their target. Dollars for dimes says that they come here in both friendly and hostile guises, and work toward pathological equilibrium on both levels. I have a good rapport with those who come here only for info, and I will treat subjective posts like wallpaper. The WOT is about to change. Rantburgers should be better able to adapt. |
| Posted by: Listen to Dogs 2006-04-01 18:29 |
| #19 When I want your opinion, I'll ask for it, No. 2. Remember, you're No. 2 for a reason |
| Posted by: No. 1 2006-04-01 18:17 |
| #18 We agree, No. 6. Shipman must be banned, and in all of his nefarious guises. And it's still the wobbly white sphere for you! |
| Posted by: No. 2 2006-04-01 16:51 |
| #17 I had to go back to the beginning, when I first started visiting. MBD was one of the premier TROLLS infesting Rantburg - fairly hard to forget. Multiple agendas is (still) the game. Bush hatred, Muslim hatred, VDH hatred, LOL. Above all, nothing negative happens in the Here, refresh your memories. A number after the link indicates the number of its TROLLED comments on that particular article. 04/02/04 http://rantburg.com/poparticle.php?HC=Main&ID=29578 (1) 04/03/04... http://rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=29636&D=2004-04-03&HC=1 (2) http://rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=29624&D=2004-04-03&HC=1 (2) http://rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=29627&D=2004-04-03&HC=2 (2) 04/06/04 http://rantburg.com/poparticle.php?HC=Main&D=2004-04-06&ID=29859 (1) 04/14/04 http://rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=30584 04/19/04 http://rantburg.com/poparticle.php?HC=Main&D=2004-04-19&ID=30893 http://rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=30896 04/30/04 http://rantburg.com/poparticle.php?HC=Main&D=2004-04-30&ID=31891 05/01/04 http://rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=31952&D=2004-05-01&HC=1 (poster/2) http://rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=31939&D=2004-05-01&HC=1 (2) http://rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=31921&D=2004-05-01&HC=1 (2) http://rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=31959&D=2004-05-01&HC=2 (4) 05/03/04 http://rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=32152&D=2004-05-03&HC=1 (2) 05/09/04 http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=32528 (2) And so on. Listen to Dogs / Man Bites Dog = BDS-infected Flea Bitten TROLL. Sick puppy. New and Improved with Stealthy BDS, LOL. The obsession with .com is icing. :) |
| Posted by: Thravins Snaving9886 2006-04-01 16:38 |
| #16 whining is unattractive. LOTP answered before I could, but I echo her comments |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-04-01 16:08 |
| #15 .com was not intentionally banned - there was a technical glitch. LtD, a friendly suggestion from a moderator. .com has earned his place here. You haven't, to the same degree yet. Word to the wise. |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-04-01 16:04 |
| #14 Moderators: Robert Crawford broke both the intemperance and the moonbat-speculation rules. |
| Posted by: Listen to Dogs 2006-04-01 15:08 |
| #13 So this is just Man Bits Dongs in another skin? Ban his ass. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2006-04-01 14:26 |
| #12 FG: .angry has been quiet and he was taken off the banned list yesterday. I saw it somewhere. BTW another "grand mosque" goes up. Coming to your town. http://islam-online.net/English/News/2006-04/01/article04.shtml |
| Posted by: Listen to Dogs 2006-04-01 13:34 |
| #11 it's almost as if you know him, T |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-04-01 13:22 |
| #10 It's that bastard Shipman what should stay banned. He's stone cold crazy. He speaks to the Muffler Men and they listen and nod in giant agreement. |
| Posted by: 6 2006-04-01 13:10 |
| #9 I'll take .com (who wasn't banned btw - Fred said as much yesterday..pay attention to |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-04-01 13:00 |
| #8 trailing wife: Whiny obsession and all trump Bridge-play can indicate only 1 presence. He was banned until yesterday according to Seafarious, and he signalled the second coming by regurgitating outdated Hannrity stock. With all the material available to Rantburgers, it should be obvious that the White House is sharpening pre-emption, so it is not wise to stay angrily rooted in the 2002 worldview like the Maglite wielding security guard. I sent this in for posting this morning. Culture-War material: http://www.chicagodefender.com/page/local.cfm?ArticleID=4635 |
| Posted by: Listen to Dogs 2006-04-01 12:00 |
| #7 Islamofascists are strong everywhere, including in your town. Look under your bed lately? |
| Posted by: Fordesque 2006-04-01 11:10 |
| #6 Listen to Dogs, dear, .com does not choose to be patient or tactful, but he has never visited Rantburg anonymously. I assume that the reason we haven't seen much of him lately has to do with a lovely -- and likely not at all sweet -- thing keeping him busy in the wilds of Las Vegas, where he's lived since moving back from Saudi Arabia not all that long ago. I realize you and he are not fond of one another, but the moderators and the old timers like him, so you are not going to win that one. And remember, we who come here are quite clear who the bad guys are, and don't need to be pursuaded. Truly! ;-) |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-04-01 10:56 |
| #5 TS9886 .com : Seafarious gave notice that desperate ad hominem attacks are not welcome here, presumedly because said attacks are all noise and no substance. Yahoo has all sorts of forums that I avoid because they vent spin-envenomed control freaks. I don't want to be banned like you were, so I am going to obey the rules and keep posting timely articles on subjects that interest open-minded Rantburgers. As for substance, 2 days ago Condi admitted that "tactical" errors were made in the counter-terror war but defended the "strategic" plan. Maybe she was hinting that al-Qaeda's successful polarization scheme could have been better countered. To me that is an open-minded and flexible approach, and I support her. .com: Try to be nicer and people will like you. Seafarious, et al: This might be sinktrap material but .com's unmanaged rage and lack of substantive posting, will probably have to be addressed pro-actively at some time. I am sorry if you find that now is not the right time, and chose to sinktrap this. Let's fight terror, and not terror fighters. |
| Posted by: Listen to Dogs 2006-04-01 09:33 |
| #4 woofs |
| Posted by: Mamood al Arf 2006-04-01 06:57 |
| #3 Welcome back, Man Bites Dog. I thought I heard a familiar howl. |
| Posted by: 6 2006-04-01 06:35 |
| #2 Why did al Qaeda attack? Polarization? Engorgement on multi-cultural poison? In your town? Such original brilliance. Welcome back, Man Bites Dog. Yes, I finally remembered where I'd heard that point of view before. I'd ask how your therapy's coming along, but your posts tell the story. The FBI is an organization which, other than perhaps forensics - and that is not a given anymore, time has passed by. A bureaucratic dinosaur totally immersed in PCism, decades behind other agencies in every relevant respect, and ultimately a dangerous legacy as it sucks up resources and exists mainly to self-propagate. Any organization which uses unconventional means for communications and finance can leave the FBI tied up in knots at square one. DIA and NSA, however, are another matter entirely. I'll leave the state of the CIA to OS. |
| Posted by: Thravins Snaving9886 2006-04-01 02:27 |
| #1 But why did al-Qaeda carry out the 9-11 attacks? Their cause was: polarization of Muslims and Westerners, in context of the West's engorgement on multi-cultural poison. Islamofascists are strong everywhere, including in your town. |
| Posted by: Listen to Dogs 2006-04-01 01:52 |